Celestians Part I: The Starfall Campaign
by Jigowatt
Summary: In a country threatened by civil war and rebellion, a secret peacekeeping force must recruit a group of young trainers to aid them in their cause. [Soon to replace Chapter 2. R&R, as always, greatly appreciated.]
1. Chapter 1

The shadowy pall of night hung over Goldenrod City, shrouding the usually busy streets with a chill gloom. It was an unusually cold night, and it had rained the previous day; so the first signs of frost were visible on the silent roads twinkling in the moonlight. The only signs of life anywhere in the city were the dull yellow lights marking windows scattered here and there in the night.

From down a dark road, there suddenly came a bright flash of light. It pierced the gloom for an instant, illuminating the buildings for hundreds of metres around. Stillness returned, but after a moment it was broken by a man's voice, deep and serious.

"Good job Electabuzz, return."

From around a street corner, a figure cautiously surveyed the surroundings. He gazed intently through his black mask at the large office building directly opposite him and checked his watch. When the lights in the building winked out all at once leaving only their image burned into the man's eyes, he appeared satisfied and set off at a quick pace down the road. A quick glance left and right saw no lights in the city for about a kilometre.

Meanwhile, from high up on another building, a woman dressed entirely in black narrowed her eyes as the lights began blinking out. She quickly reached into her pocket and pressed the speed dial on her Pokegear. After only a single ring it was picked up.

"Yes?" a man's voice on the other end, harsh and impatient.

"This is Tanya, time is…" she broke off to check the time on the Pokegear, "0117 hours, in Goldenrod City." She waited patiently for a response from the other side.

"Go ahead with the report," came the reply.

Tanya smiled. "Tell him that we have it under control." She hung up before the man on the other end responded. She was running out of time. From her belt she pulled a pokeball, maximised it and hurled it into the night sky.

"Go, Pelipper!"

The arc of white energy took the form of the large pelican pokemon. It began circling round Tanya's head while it waited for an order.

"Go find the others," she stated simply, "and lead them here, to me. Understand?"

"_Lipper, pel, peli pel!_"

"Okay, off you go then," with a wave of her arm, Pelipper soared down into the street below and out of sight in the gloom. As soon as she was sure Pelipper was gone, Tanya rushed to the service stairs that led down and out of the building.

In the underground retail complex in Goldenrod's elite North Sector, another man was waiting with a scowl on his face. He was slumped against the wall, one leg cocked and braced him up, and the other foot tapped the floor rapidly. He checked his watch and sighed heavily. A sound from the exit stairway caught his attention: the rapid honking cry of a Pelipper. Upon investigation, he found Tanya's pokemon with two more men waiting with it. Instantly he recognised it.

"So where's Tanya?" he asked.

"Business Sector. We have to go meet her."

Sprinting down the street now as fast as she could run, Tanya searched the dark sky for traces of her Pelipper. She paused for breath at an intersection marking the boundary between the Commercial Sector and the Business Sector and stood there for a minute, her heavy breaths coming as thin clouds of steam in the chill air. From above her there came the unmistakeable call of her faithful pokemon as it glided slowly down to her. Jogging along the street behind it were her three colleagues. Tanya smiled warmly at her pokemon before recalling it back into its pokeball.

"Max, Barry, Kris," Tanya greeted each of her team mates in turn, "I think we're a little late."

"You don't say?" Barry snorted with a hint of sarcasm, gazing around at the blacked-out streets. "So what do we do now?"

"He's on the move," Tanya said, "The fastest way out of Goldenrod would be the train, five blocks away."

"Um, he cut the power, right? The train won't run," Kris observed.

"Wrong, the Goldenrod-Saffron train gets its power from the station in the Kanto hills," Max contradicted. "Even with the blackout, the train still runs on auxiliary power."

"Right," Tanya said grimly, "so we move quickly, Barry and I will lock down the station from the control room, here." She gestured to a tiny square on the Pokegear map. "Max, you and Kris need to storm the station and prevent him from leaving. Stay together, keep a pokemon out."

Almost automatically, all four of them summoned a chosen pokemon. Next to Tanya appeared a Golbat, Barry summoned an Umbreon, Max chose Heracross, and Vigoroth would fight for Kris.

"Let's go."

Having reached the train station, the four trainers paired off and went their separate ways: Tanya and Barry slipped round the back where a light could be seen glowing in the control box, while Max and Kris hurried towards the front entrance. The main entrance was blocked with a large iron grille over the wooden doors. Max and Kris glanced at each other.

"Heracross, Vigoroth, use Strength," Max ordered. Rearing back, the two pokemon smashed their weight into the metalwork, which gave an audible groan under the strain.

"Good, now lift it up," Kris said quickly. Its locking mechanism smashed, the gate slid up easily into its housing above the entrance. The entrance proper was guarded by double wooden doors locked with a simple key lock.

"This one's all yours, Kris," Max said, motioning to his partner. Kris swiftly pulled out a lock pick and after a terse couple of minutes clicked the door open.

"How do you do that?" Max asked Kris as they and their pokemon dashed inside.

"Practice makes perfect, my man," Kris replied with a grin.

In the control box around the back of the train station, Barry worked to disable the gate controls to prevent the train leaving. Tanya stood by occasionally glancing around to check that they were alone, Golbat hovering above. She heard a whoop of triumph from inside the box, shortly before Barry emerged with Umbreon on his heel.

"'Ain't no train leaving here anytime soon," he informed Tanya.

"Nice work," Tanya commented. "Now let's get inside."

Inside the station the masked man had heard the commotion at the front entrance. Panicked, he resumed tapping on the keyboard in a vain attempt to activate one of the trains. The computer beeped repeatedly and told him that what he was trying to do was impossible. His face twisted in a snarl as he heard Kris and Max's footsteps audibly falling on the cold tiled floor. Hurriedly, he grasped a pokeball and threw it before sprinting for the platform. A Graveler emerged, threw a threatening gaze to the empty reception area then rolled off after its master.

Seconds later, Kris and Max arrived at the console where the masked man had been standing. It took them a second to check the computer, then:

"Hey, look at this," Max said. He pointed at a CCTV camera feed from the platform where the man could clearly be seen with his back pressed against the wall. On another camera, Tanya and Barry approached the platform from a service entrance, unaware of the masked man's presence.

"Looks like our man hit a dead end," Kris smiled. "Us on one side, them on the other."

"He won't go out without a fight," Max motioned to the bulky form of the Graveler standing guard by the platform entrance.

"Then we should go now," Kris said, switching off the monitor and running for the platform.

Down in the service tunnel, Barry stopped before a heavy metal door labelled

"Platform 1".

"This should take us in the train station," he said to Tanya, who jogged up slowly behind him.

"Is it locked?" she asked. Barry tried the handle. It clicked softly.

"No," he replied. "Umbreon, you go first. Faint Attack anything threatening."

"_Um,_" the Dark pokemon nodded, before slipping through the open door.

"Okay, in we go," Barry muttered.

He pushed the door gently, both of them silently offering thanks for the hinges, which were in good repair and did not squeak. Barry went in first after Umbreon, whom he found crouching behind a bench on the platform. Barry saw Golbat swoop up into the metal girders above, while Tanya moved round the back of platform, taking cover in the shade of a vending machine. On the opposite side of the platform, Kris and Max crept forward towards where they knew the Graveler was waiting at the entrance to the main station. The masked man, pressed against the wall through which he could hear Kris and Max approaching, suddenly bellowed a command to Graveler:

"Explosion, NOW!"

All four team mates heard the voice, and each one had only a split second to react.

There was a glare of light, and a shockwave rushed through the station moments before there was a mighty roar of sound. The Graveler exploded, throwing a wall of force and debris crashing through the platform. Shattered walls collapsed, bringing down sections of the roof over the platform and train track. Tanya rolled out of the way moments before a twisted girder slammed into the vending machine in front of her, crippling it. She yelled a command to Golbat, now dodging falling stone and metal.

"Golbat! Wing Attack that guy!"

The giant bat instantly dive-bombed towards the masked man who was hastily trying to make his escape. With expert control, Golbat dived in low, slicing the man's legs out from underneath him with a swift blow from its wings. As the dust settled, the man opened his eyes to see Tanya, Barry, Kris and Max standing over him, their pokemon all watching him with glares like laser beams.

"You and your illegal activities have been officially neutralized by four Thunder Rank officers of the Pokemon Celestians," Tanya reeled off coolly. "We have reason to suspect that, you, anonymous criminal, are wholly or in part responsible for the theft of several evolution stones of unspecified value, as well as being wholly responsible for the destruction of platform 1 at the Goldenrod Station. Do you have anything to say?"

The masked man looked at them all with a mixture of shock and confusion. He somehow managed to stutter out a sentence:

"Who – who are you people?" he gasped.

"Yeah," Max grinned. "Most of them say that."


	2. Chapter 2

"So what are you going to catch with your pokeball?" Mike asked as he grabbed a soda from a vending machine. His best friend Ryan leaned against the wall, hands jammed in his pockets.

"Hmm," Ryan thought aloud. "I don't know. What's strong against your pokemon?" He said, grinning.

"Mareep kicks the tar out of anything," Mike stated with a similar grin, "but I do know it can't touch Ground types."

"Whatever I get, it needs to be weak enough to catch with one pokeball…or I gotta start saving all over again."

"Well, give it some thought," Mike said simply. The two friends started walking again. "Hey, see the news? The station in Goldenrod was trashed last night. Just…boom. Blown up."

"Whoa. What happened?"

"No-one really knows. They blame this new group hanging around…real weirdoes dressing all in black and using pokemon to cause trouble."

"Huh," Ryan said, not really listening.

"Hey, check it out," Mike said suddenly. He pointed down the road, off to the side in the leafy undergrowth. There was something moving quickly and erratically, occasionally pausing before moving on.

"What is that?" Ryan asked, half to himself. As if answering him, a small, triangular head popped out of the foliage. It had a white neck and from the top of its head down its back it was lined with sandy-coloured scales. Two large, glossy black eyes stared pointedly at the two boys.

"It must be a pokemon!" Ryan cried excitedly. "I'm gonna catch it!"

"You want Mareep's help?" Mike asked.

"Sure, couldn't hurt," Ryan said.

"Okay, come on out Mareep! Let's see what you can do!" Mike introduced his new pokemon with a flourish. The timid sheep-like pokemon appeared in a flash, shaking its fleecy yellow coat. The wild pokemon recognised the threat and scurried out of the leaves, calling loudly.

"Is it saying…Sandshrew?" Ryan asked.

Mike nodded. "I think so," he said. "Thunder Wave, Mareep!"

Mareep sent a jolt of static towards Sandshrew, enveloping it and shocking its muscles. But with a shake of its dumpy little body, Sandshrew completely ignored the assault.

"What the…? Then it must be a Ground type!" Mike exclaimed.

"Nice! Then I'm definitely catching it!" Ryan pulled out his pokeball and maximised it quickly.

"Wait! We didn't even weaken it, it might escape," Mike cautioned.

Ryan looked carefully at Sandshrew, and it stared right back. There was a few moments silence.

"Pokeball, go!" Ryan commanded. It bounced off the Sandshrew and sucked the pokemon inside. It wobbled once… "Come on…" Ryan muttered."

A second wobble…Mike recalled Mareep silently and watched.

The ball gave a "ping" and was still. Ryan could scarcely believe it.

"Oh…yeah!" He cheered. "I caught it, I caught Sandshrew!"

"That's amazing," Mike admitted. "How did you do that?"

"I don't know," Ryan replied, "I just…trusted my luck, I guess." He was still giddy from the adrenaline rush.

"Well, that's some luck you got there," Mike patted his friend on the shoulder in congratulations. "Hey, now we can start training together!"

"Heh, we better fight other trainers. Mareep wouldn't stand a chance against Sandshrew!"

"Ah, dammit…"

As the days went on, Ryan and Sandshrew became firm friends. Ryan realized his pokemon's potential as an excellent fighter; and Sandshrew trusted in Ryan's attitude and care. In due time, they had fought every trainer in the town, some even volunteering for a rematch and being soundly defeated. Mike even beat Ryan at one point, using Mareep's Tackle to get through Sandshrew's dominant Ground advantage. Two weeks after Ryan had caught Sandshrew, the boys were sitting in Ryan's room, studying pokemon battling books. Sandshrew and Mareep wandered about aimlessly, exploring their surroundings.

"Sandshrew evolves into Sandslash…just look at those claws…"

"I could do some real damage with Thunderpunch…"

"You know Mike, I've been thinking," Ryan said, shutting the book. "I might be leaving soon."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, there's more to pokemon than this little town. I wanna get out there and see what I can learn…with Sandshrew by my side, of course."

"I don't see why not," Mike said. "You've got great skills…you're practically undefeated with just one pokemon. You might even have the potential to get to Pokemon League."

"Seriously?" Ryan said in awe. "I never thought about it like that."

"So, when do we leave?" Mike asked.

"Huh…you're coming too?" Ryan said in surprise.

"Well, yeah. I think you're right. There's so much we can achieve and see out in the big wide world. It'll be a real adventure!"

"This is gonna be great!" Ryan cried. "I'll get my stuff ready tonight, and we can leave tomorrow!"


	3. Chapter 3

The early morning sun cast a brilliant orange glow over the countryside. Ryan was sprinting down the street to meet Mike outside the town. Amazingly, Mike was already there, despite Ryan's best efforts to be awake as soon as possible.

"Morning," Mike yawned. "I didn't even know morning existed this early."

"Stop complaining!" Ryan said, taking a deep breath. "It's time for us to be on our way!"

"Who's complaining?" Mike grinned widely and hitched his rucksack. "Let's go!"

They walked for a few hours laughing and talking excitedly. When they were far enough away from town, they let their pokemon out to scamper along beside them.

"So what types of pokemon are you thinking of catching?" Mike asked.

"I want a varied team…a mixture from all the different types." Ryan replied.

"Yeah, that's important," Mike agreed, "but the pokemon types aren't the only thing that's important. You've also got to give them the right abilities and train them properly to counter anything that's thrown at them."

Ryan looked thoughtful. "I wonder if it's possible to train a team that's strong against every single pokemon type?"

"I bet it is…your Sandshrew can learn Ground and Rock attacks, right? Well, combined, it's strong against Electric, Fire, Flying, Bug, Steel, Poison, Rock and Ice pokemon! Imagine what you could do with six pokemon, all with different type attacks!"

"Wow…" Ryan said. "A team that can totally cover its own weaknesses…almost unbeatable."

"So for sure the next pokemon I catch is gonna be strong against your Sandshrew!" Mike said. They both laughed.

They stopped on the banks of a narrow stream for a breather, pulling water and snacks from their bags. "There must be pokemon down there," Ryan pointed.

Mike investigated, and sure enough there was a group of small, round blue pokemon with small feet and long thin tails. Below their beady little eyes and round pink mouths, there were black spirals on their white stomachs. "_Poliwag,_" they called.

"What did you find?" Ryan yelled over.

"Some Water pokemon!" Mike called back excitedly. "Just the thing I need!" He whistled sharply and Mareep came to his side. "Which one looks strongest?" Mareep sent an electric shock into one of the Poliwag. It sat up grumpily and charged towards them while the rest scattered into the water.

Mareep circled round to face Poliwag, lowering itself into an attack pose. "Use Thundershock!" Mike ordered. The bolt struck Poliwag, knocking it back. In retaliation, Poliwag's eyes glowed blue, sending out waves of psychic energy.

"This must be its Hypnosis attack," Ryan explained. "I did some reading on different pokemon abilities…it's going to put Mareep to sleep."

Mareep started to look drowsy, and began to move sluggishly. Poliwag bounced up and slapped it, from the left, then right, then with a powerful slap on Mareep's head. It had taken damage, but it was enough to wake it up. Before Mareep could return to attacking, Poliwag sprayed it with a Bubble jet.

"Wow, this thing is tough," Mike commented. "Mareep, another Thundershock!"

Again Mareep shocked Poliwag and this time it fell to the ground, twitching slightly.

"You paralysed it," Ryan told him, "throw the pokeball!"

Mike hurled his pokeball at the Poliwag, and after a few tense seconds, it was his.

"Alright, I got a Poliwag! Now I can beat Sandshrew!" Mike celebrated his capture with Mareep.

"There's a pokemon centre not far down the road, so we'll be able to heal our pokemon and stay the night," Ryan said, studying the map.

"Sounds good to me," Mike replied.

They reached the pokemon centre at sundown. As they entered through the sliding doors, they passed trainers coming in to stay for the night, like them, and more experienced trainers leaving to hunt for nocturnal pokemon. They left their pokemon with the nurse and went to the lounge. They had been seated, talking quietly for a few minutes before a girl approached them both.

"Excuse me, are you trainers?"

"Who…us?" Mike said uncertainly.

She laughed. "There's no-one else here. Interested in a little pokemon battle?"

"Sure," Ryan and Mike said in unison.

"Uh, but who fights who?" Ryan asked.

"How many pokemon do you have?" The girl asked.

"I only have one," Ryan replied.

"And I got two," Mike stated.

"So you both choose one pokemon each to battle my two!" The girl concluded.

"Then we'll get our pokemon back from the nurse and settle this!" Mike said.

"Oh, and I'm Ryan by the way, nice to meet you."

"Sarah. Nice to meet you too."

"My friend's called Mike," Ryan told Sarah, nodding in the direction of where Mike was running outside with his pokemon.

"Well, are you guys coming or not?" Mike called impatiently.

Outside it was dark, but thankfully still warm out. The three trainers assembled; Ryan and Mike stood side by side opposite Sarah on the forecourt.

"Well, I assume you know which pokemon the other has," Sarah said, "So the two of you just battle as if you were one trainer."

"Okay," Ryan confirmed. To Mike, he said, "What do you think we should start with? Give Poliwag a shot?" Mike took out his pokeball and nodded.

"Then stand back and watch me work!" Mike declared, "Poliwag, go!"

"And I choose you, Swablu!" Sarah released her pokemon, which fluttered above them. I looked like a small sky-blue canary with cotton for wings and it chirped happily as it hovered.

"Well, we know it's a Flying type," Mike thought out loud. "Let's start with Doubleslap, Poliwag!"

"And you use Fury Attack, Swablu!"

The two pokemon met and briefly duelled, each slap meeting a beak jab. When neither attack did significant damage, the pokemon pulled away and circled warily.

"Try Bubble," Mike commanded.

"Dodge it and Peck," Sarah ordered.

Swablu did its best to bank and avoid the jet that Poliwag sprayed at it, but it was caught and pushed off balance by the bubbles. When it circled for the Peck attack, it came too low and Poliwag jumped to avoid it, slapping it as it went past.

"Haha, that's the way Poliwag!" Mike laughed. "Hit it again with Bubble!"

"If this is what I have to do…" Sarah declared, "Sing!"

Poliwag had barely readied its attack when Swablu began chirping an oddly haunting melody. It had the effect on Poliwag, which drifted off to sleep and collapsed to the floor.

"What? No!" Mike recalled it. "Cheap victory."

"But a victory nonetheless!" Sarah smirked.

"Well Ryan, I guess you're up," Mike said, returning Poliwag.

"Then meet my buddy Sandshrew!" Ryan declared, tossing his pokeball.

"A Ground type?" Sarah asked. "Good luck hitting Swablu!"

"You obviously don't know Sandshrew!" Ryan said with a smile. "Use Rock Tomb!"

Sandshrew pulled chunks of rock out of the ground and buried Swablu. When the boulders rolled off, the battered bird pokemon was out.

"It's okay, Swablu, you did great." Sarah grabbed her second and final pokeball. "Clefairy, let's go!"

Bouncing onto the field, the short, plump fairy pokemon shrilled happily. "Use Sing Clefairy!"

"Geez, what is it with you and putting our pokemon to sleep?" Ryan grumbled.

"Pokemon can't do anything when they're asleep," Sarah stated.

"True…or when they're fainted. So Sandshrew, use Dig!"

Just as Clefairy began its lulling melody, Sandshrew burrowed underground.

"Look out Clefairy…it's gonna come from below!"

The warning came too late, and Sandshrew blasted Clefairy from beneath the earth. The impact sent Clefairy rolling, but it bounced back to its feet again.

"Okay Clefairy, combine Pound and Doubleslap!"

The furious barrage of attacks that rained down on Sandshrew would have put any lesser pokemon under in an instant. But sturdy Sandshrew stood its ground and weathered the attack by curling into a ball.

"That must be Sandshrew's Defense Curl," Mike pointed out.

"Sandshrew, try Sand Attack," Ryan ordered.

"Uh-oh," Sarah said, wagging her finger, "bad move. Clefairy, get up close and use Encore!"

"Encore…what's that?" Ryan asked.

"It forces the pokemon to keep doing whatever its doing for as long as Clefairy commands," Sarah gleefully explained, "and while Clefairy's up close and can see Sandshrew perfectly, Sand Attack is meaningless!"

"But…oh no!"

As Sandshrew helplessly kept brushing up more sand Clefairy pummelled it with Doubleslap. When the dust cleared, Sandshrew was face down on the ground, legs still motoring away as if still kicking up sand.

"Well done Clefairy! It worked perfectly!" Sarah congratulated her pokemon before calling it back.

"I can't believe she beat us," Mike said.

"Hey, come on, we lost fair and square," Ryan conceded. "That was some battling."

Inside the pokemon centre, two men who had watched the whole battle now turned to each other in interest. One of them got out a Pokegear and dialled.

"Hey, boss. We got some people for you to meet."


	4. Chapter 4

The three young trainers returned to the centre and handed in their pokemon so they could all get a well-deserved rest. Ryan held the door as two men walked hastily outside, mumbling their thanks as they passed. Obviously still elated by her victory, Sarah literally skipped to the vending machine by the wall and bought cans of soda for each of them. Ryan took a seat in the lounge, cracked his can open and gratefully took a swig.

"I have to say again, that was some impressive battling," he commended. "How long have you been a trainer?"

Sarah shrugged: "A couple months, tops. To tell you the truth, though, that was my first battle."

Both Ryan and Mike nearly spat out their mouthfuls of drink in shock and surprise, simultaneously feeling about two inches tall.

"You beat us in your first battle?" Mike exclaimed, "But we've been battling for weeks!"

Sarah giggled and shrugged once again: "Call it beginner's luck," she said with a wink.

"Where are you from Sarah?" Ryan asked.

"It's a small cluster of boredom in the mountains to the north called Bouldon Village," she replied. "It's pretty isolated, it took two days to get the bottom of the mountain trail."

"All by yourself?" Ryan raised an eyebrow. The trails would have been difficult for the two boys to handle. For a young girl, alone, the risk was enormous.

Sarah nodded. "I grew up on the mountain. The kids there learn wilderness survival before adding and subtracting."

"And you got your pokemon there, I guess?" Mike added.

"Clefairy was my starter," Sarah replied, "then I caught Swablu on the trail."

The conversation lapsed as the three trainers relaxed in the soft couches with their drinks for a while. Ryan headed up to the counter to arrange rooms for the three of them. The clock on the wall chimed at the hour and Sarah broke the silence.

"Where are you guys headed?"

"To be honest, we don't really know," Mike said. "We were thinking of going to Pokemon League, so I suppose we could ask for directions to the nearest gym."

"Well, good luck. Nowadays getting to Pokemon League is difficult enough, let alone securing a place in the tournament."

"What do you mean?"

"Security, mainly. All those stories in the news about crimes and thefts…the League released a statement the other day that access to the stadium and headquarters would be strictly limited."

"Over a few crimes?" Mike said. "They must have been really serious."

"Not really, now that you mention it," Sarah observed. "But they're saying that this year might be the first that the tournament is cancelled since the formation of the League."

At that, Ryan returned from the counter with two keyrings. "Mike, we got a room together. Sarah, here's yours."

"Thank you," she said. "I think I'll get ready for bed soon, actually. It feels like I've been awake forever. I'll see you in the morning before you go?"

Ryan nodded. "Sure." And with a wave, she departed towards the dormitories.

"We should probably turn in soon, too," Mike said, rising from the couch.

Ryan didn't move. "Is it just me, or did she seem a little…" he paused, searching for the word, "…perfect?"

Mike laughed. "You've got a crush on her? You move fast, man, we've known her for about an hour."

"That's not what I meant. She came down from the mountain on her own – catching a pokemon on the way, no less, and beats us in her first attempt at a battle?"

"You're just bitter we lost," Mike grinned.

"Maybe. But I still get the feeling there's more to her than she's letting on."

The two boys finally rose and said good night to the duty nurse who was locking the shutters on the front door.

"Which room are we?" Mike asked absently as they walked down the small corridor.

"Hang on…" Ryan fumbled in his pockets for the key to check the number on the tag. As he did so, a second key fell to the ground.

"Sarah's key…" Mike said slowly. "She must have forgotten it."

"And I suppose she got to the room, realised, and then camped out in the corridor, did she? Why didn't she come back for it?"

"Well, I'm sure there's a good reason…"

"It's room six," Ryan said quickly, "let's at least check it out."

They moved down the hall, checking the numbers on the doors until they found the right one. With a glance at Ryan, Mike knocked on the door, and they both waited. When there was no reply, he knocked again. After another few seconds of silence, he cautiously pressed down on the handle, and the door swung open with a click. Mike entered, with Ryan close behind.

There was no sign of life inside the room, but everything appeared to be in order. Ryan felt on the wall for a light switch when he heard a low muttering sound. They only had enough time to let out a muffled cry before the noxious blue cloud enveloped them both and they slumped to the floor, completely unconscious.

When Ryan awoke, he had no idea how long he had been out. His head felt like it was full of cement when he tried to lift it, so he was resigned to sitting still and yawning instinctively. When his numb mouth managed to form words, he said the only thing he was thinking: "Where…am I?"

Voices swam into his consciousness, but they were distorted and hard to hear. A pounding headache was beginning to set in, and he couldn't concentrate.

"- he okay?"

"Here, drink this."

A bottle was pressed to Ryan's lips and he gratefully gulped the water that flowed out. It wasn't cold, but it helped clear his head.

"You can let him go, he won't go anywhere."

"What about his friends?"

"Yes, and them."

Ryan felt a weight lift off his shoulders and tried to get to his feet, but his limbs refused to respond. Instead, he repeated: "Where am I?" His vision still blurred, he saw shapes moving in front of him.

"I'm afraid we can't say. We've already been compromised bringing you here." It was a man's voice, old and weathered, but quietly confident and extremely eloquent. "But let's not dwell on what's been done, but rather, what we must now do."

"I don't care who you are or what you want to do," Ryan said, gaining confidence. "Just let my friends and I go or I'll tear you all apart myself."

"Such fighting words from a boy who can't stand on his own legs. Incidentally, I should apologise: it was never our plan to use the Sleep Powder, but it seems circumstances led you to us before we could approach you in a more civilised manner."

"Sleep…Powder?" Ryan turned his head to see that Mike had spoken, and he looked in a similar state. On his other side, Sarah was stretching and yawning.

"Yes. Potent stuff, works equally well on humans as it does on pokemon, as I'm sure you discovered. I'm told the symptoms will wear off before long, but the headache is rather like being drunk. Not that you would know, I'm sure."

"Look…what the hell do you want from us?" Ryan snapped. The man in his vision was becoming more and more focused as Ryan concentrated and sipped from the bottle of water.

"To the point then. Now, I'm going to be completely honest: I estimate we owe you that much, following your less-than-gracious journey here." The man paused, choosing his words carefully. "We are a group known as the Celestians."

"You're terrorists," Mike interrupted.

"Quite the opposite," came the reply. "We fight for the peace of the nations."

"Then how come we never heard of you?" Sarah spoke for the first time.

"The element of surprise is one's greatest weapon against the enemy, and we find that it's very surprising indeed if no one knows we exist."

"So, you're secret cops?" Mike said.

"To put it bluntly; although our work is much less mundane than figuring out who stole the apples from the orchard."

"And we should just believe you, right?" Ryan asked.

"I imagine things would get very confusing if we all tried to second-guess each other all the time. I find that honesty is the best policy."

Then Sarah asked the question that was on all three of the trainer's lips: "So…how did we end up getting kidnapped by a secret law enforcement agency?"

"I would have though it was obvious by now," the voice said, sounding bemused. "We want you to join us, of course."


End file.
